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Brett Hawke Hometown: Sydney, Australia Position: Head Coach Experience: 6th Season at Auburn Alma Mater: Auburn '10

In his third full year as head coach of Auburn swimming & diving, Brett Hawke has continued to uphold the championship tradition of the Tigers. And as the program heads into an Olympic year, Hawke and the rest of his staff are preparing not only to defend another SEC title and produce NCAA champions, but also to reach the pinnacle of the sport at the 2012 London Olympics.

Hawke's Tigers kept their men's SEC championship streak alive in 2011, capturing the program's 15th consecutive conference championship and 17th overall in winning a tight meet with the host Florida Gators. In the men's championship meet, Auburn athletes won five individual titles and two relays, while the Tiger women took two individual titles and three relays en route to a third-place finish. Under Hawke's guidance, junior Arianna Vanderpool-Wallace broke an NCAA and U.S. Open record in the 100 freestyle with a 46.81 at the SEC Championships; she would later win a national title in both that event and the 50 freestyle, becoming the first Auburn woman to capture an NCAA Championship in those events.

During his first full season as head coach, Hawke led the men's program to its 16th SEC title and its record 14th-straight conference championship in 2010. During the 2010 conference meet, Auburn swimmers recorded seven individual titles and five relay titles.

Under Hawke's direction as co-head coach in 2009, the Auburn men came away with their eighth national title, capturing the 2009 Men's Swimming and Diving NCAA Championship. During the three-day event, Auburn recorded 54 All-America honors and had one individual and four relay champions. The Tigers also set three US Open, three NCAA and 17 school records en route to the title.

Hawke returned to The Plains in the summer of 2006 as an assistant coach for the program. Hawke, a native of Sydney, Australia, was a 17-time All-American swimmer for Auburn from 1997 to 1999.

As a member of the coaching staff, Hawke works directly with the Auburn sprinters. Under his direction, Cesar Cielo provided one of the top highlights from the 2008 NCAA Championships as he became the fastest swimmer in the world with his 18.47 in the 50 free. What made the mark even more impressive was not that he did it once, but he reached the mark three times. He won the 50 free with a time of 18.52 after qualifying with an 18.79 in the preliminary. His time of 18.47 came as the 200 free relay leadoff.

In all, Auburn sprinters won six All-America honors with Cielo sweeping the 50 and 100 freestyle titles in 2008. He also became the first swimmer to break the 41-second barrier in the 100 free with a 40.92. For his efforts, Cielo was named the NCAA Swimmer of the Year for the second year in a row.

Hawke has also seen coaching success at the international level. He served as an assistant coach for the United States team at the 2011 World University Games, helping lead the Americans to 27 medals at the event.

During the 2009 World Championships, Hawke served as an assistant coach with the Brazilian national team and coached Cielo to two gold medals in the 50 and 100 freestyles. Cielo became the fastest swimmer in the world in the 100 free when he touched the wall in 46.91. Other Tiger sprinters medaling at the championships were Fred Bousquet (silver - 50 free, bronze - 100 free, 4x100 free relay) and Matt Targett (silver - 50 fly, bronze - 4x100 medley relay).

Hawke also had the opportunity to coach Cielo at the 2008 Olympic Games. Serving once again as an assistant coach with the Brazilian national team, Hawke mentored the South American star as he won a bronze in the 100m free and a gold in the 50m free with an Olympic record time of 21.30. Other Auburn sprinters trained by Hawke at the 2008 Olympics included Matt Targett, Fred Bousquet, Jakob Andkjaer and Alexei Puninski. Targett and Bousquet both brought home medals after their performance on relay teams.

Auburn sprinters overall were very impressive at the 2007 NCAAs with 13 swimmers advancing to finals. In the men's 50 free, Auburn took the top two spots with Cielo taking the title and Targett right behind him. Scott Goodrich and Bryan Lundquist also made the championship final. In the women's 50 free, it was Kara Denby leading the team in eighth.

In the 100 free, Cielo picked up another NCAA Championship with a time of 41.17 and Targett followed in sixth place. In the women's 100 free, it was Denby again leading the team in fourth place, followed by Emily Kukors in fifth.

During his time in Auburn, Hawke captured nine NCAA titles to go along with seven SEC crowns. In 1997, Hawke became part of Auburn history as he was a member of the first NCAA Championship team.

At the 1997 NCAA meet, Hawke won four titles, including one as part of the 200 medley relay team that set a new U.S. Open and NCAA record.

At the same meet, Hawke claimed Auburn's second ever 50m free title. He duplicated the relay performance the following year with the medley relay team that took the crown in a NCAA meet, NCAA and U.S. Open record time.

In 1999, Hawke helped lead the Tigers to their second NCAA team title en route to capturing four titles of his own at the meet. During his three years as a student-athlete, Hawke was also part of three SEC team championships.

A two-time Olympian, Hawke finished sixth in the 50m free in Athens. Hawke has three Commonwealth Games medals in his collection, including silver in the 50m free from 2002. Adding to his long list of international experience, in 2001 and 2003, Hawke was a World Championship finalist in the 50m free and at the 2002 Pan Pacific Championships, Hawke won bronze in the 50m free.

A five-time Australian champion, Hawke is the former Australian record holder in the 50m free with a time of 22.07 that he set at the 2004 Olympic Games in the semifinal round.

Hawke is married to the former Trudi James and the couple have four children: Kirra (13), Kobe (9) and twins Yasmin and Lily (3). James was a member of the Auburn University soccer team from 1994-97. Hawke earned his bachelor's degree in psychology in the summer of 2010.

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